2000_Solihull_Council_election
2000 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election
Local election in the UK
The 2000 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2000 to elect members of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.[1]
Solihull was a top target for the Conservatives in the 2000 local elections[2] with the party needing 2 gains to win an overall majority.[3] Among the councillors defending seats in the election were the Conservative leader of the council in Castle Bromwich ward and the Labour group leader.[4]
The Conservatives campaigned on promises to protect the green belt and carefully manage the council's finances, while the national party's hard line on asylum seekers was also seen by the party as helping in the election.[5] Labour defended its strongholds in the north of the council area, pledging to target spending on addressing social problems in an area with high unemployment.[5]
The results saw the Conservatives win a majority of 5 on the council to have majority control for the first time since 1991.[6][7][8] Solihull also became the first metropolitan borough with a Conservative majority since the mid-1990s.[9] The Conservative gained Elmdon from the Labour party,[7] Packwood and Shirley East from the Liberal Democrats and Shirley South where an independent councillor stood down at the election.[10] Meanwhile, the Labour group leader Mick Corser lost the election in Bickenhill after having been deselected in his previous ward of Fordbridge.[8][10][11] Overall turnout in the election was 30.1%, a rise from 28.3% in 1999.[12]
The Labour party blamed the threatened closure of the Longbridge plant for a disappointing performance in the election,[10][11] while the Conservatives put their success down to local campaigning and the national issue of pensions only going up by 75 pence.[13] Following the election the former deputy group leader Hugh Hendry was elected as the new leader of the Labour group.[14]
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 11 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 64.7 | 58.9 | 27,601 | +7.9% | |
| Labour | 4 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 23.5 | 18.2 | 8,524 | -5.3% | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 11.8 | 22.6 | 10,608 | -2.9% | |
| Independent Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 158 | +0.3% | |
This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections :[16]
| Party | Previous council | New council | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservatives | 24 | 28 | |||
| Labour | 15 | 14 | |||
| Liberal Democrat | 11 | 9 | |||
| Independent Ratepayers & Residents | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 51 | 51 | |||
| Working majority | -3 | 5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Robert Sleigh | 2,070 | 66.0 | +7.4 | |
| Labour | Michael Corser | 854 | 27.2 | -7.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Linda Whitlock | 213 | 6.8 | +0.1 | |
| Majority | 1,216 | 38.8 | +15.0 | ||
| Turnout | 3,137 | 31.5 | +1.6 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +7.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | George Richards | 2,149 | 74.7 | +11.7 | |
| Labour | Florence Nash | 518 | 18.0 | -11.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Knight | 211 | 7.3 | -0.6 | |
| Majority | 1,631 | 56.7 | +22.8 | ||
| Turnout | 2,878 | 30.4 | +1.9 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +11.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Alfred Hill | 630 | 53.8 | -12.7 | |
| Conservative | Graham Juniper | 391 | 33.4 | +9.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jennifer Wright | 149 | 12.7 | +3.1 | |
| Majority | 239 | 20.4 | -22.4 | ||
| Turnout | 1,170 | 15.5 | -0.2 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | -11.2 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | James Wild | 1,782 | 58.0 | +5.3 | |
| Labour | Ann Littley | 1,085 | 35.3 | -1.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Anthony Verduyn | 208 | 6.8 | -3.7 | |
| Majority | 697 | 22.7 | +6.9 | ||
| Turnout | 3,075 | 38.2 | +4.8 | ||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +3.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Frederick Nash | 436 | 48.7 | -17.4 | |
| Conservative | Graham White | 319 | 35.6 | +10.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Christopher Hayes | 140 | 15.6 | +6.6 | |
| Majority | 117 | 13.1 | -28.2 | ||
| Turnout | 895 | 14.6 | -0.7 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | -14.1 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Andrew Montgomerie | 608 | 46.8 | -14.6 | |
| Conservative | Martin Diggins | 443 | 34.1 | +5.0 | |
| Independent Labour | Brian Carter | 158 | 12.2 | +12.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Christine Reeves | 89 | 6.9 | -2.6 | |
| Majority | 165 | 12.7 | -19.6 | ||
| Turnout | 1,298 | 22.9 | +2.2 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | -9.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Leslie Kyles | 2,306 | 73.4 | +4.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Eric Widger | 514 | 16.4 | +1.3 | |
| Labour | Kevin Foster | 320 | 10.2 | -5.9 | |
| Majority | 1,792 | 57.1 | +4.4 | ||
| Turnout | 3,140 | 35.3 | +3.2 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +1.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Irene Chamberlain | 1,297 | 58.2 | -1.5 | |
| Conservative | Alan Vincent | 643 | 28.8 | +4.5 | |
| Labour | Michael Weale | 290 | 13.0 | -3.0 | |
| Majority | 654 | 29.3 | -6.0 | ||
| Turnout | 2,230 | 28.6 | -0.4 | ||
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | -3.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | David Bell | 2,061 | 69.0 | +4.7 | |
| Labour | Jonathan Maltman | 508 | 17.0 | -4.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Peter Whitlock | 417 | 14.0 | -0.4 | |
| Majority | 1,553 | 52.0 | +8.9 | ||
| Turnout | 2,986 | 32.3 | +2.0 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +4.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Norman Davies | 1,734 | 50.8 | -4.8 | |
| Conservative | Patricia Handslip | 1,456 | 42.7 | +6.4 | |
| Labour | Gerald Cooke | 221 | 6.5 | -1.6 | |
| Majority | 278 | 8.2 | -11.2 | ||
| Turnout | 3,411 | 35.9 | +0.1 | ||
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | -5.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Andrzej Mackiewicz | 2,515 | 56.1 | +9.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Robert Reeves | 1,752 | 39.1 | -9.4 | |
| Labour | Margaret Brittin | 218 | 4.9 | -0.0 | |
| Majority | 763 | 17.0 | +15.2 | ||
| Turnout | 4,485 | 41.1 | +2.4 | ||
| Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | +9.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Neill Watts | 1,861 | 51.3 | +6.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | June Gandy | 1,556 | 42.9 | -2.1 | |
| Labour | Philip Knowles | 212 | 5.8 | -4.6 | |
| Majority | 305 | 8.4 | +7.9 | ||
| Turnout | 3,629 | 39.0 | +4.4 | ||
| Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | +4.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Rosemary Worsley | 2,325 | 67.3 | +4.1 | |
| Labour | James Burman | 626 | 18.1 | -3.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Douglas Hogg | 502 | 14.5 | -0.9 | |
| Majority | 1,699 | 49.2 | +7.3 | ||
| Turnout | 3,453 | 26.2 | +1.4 | ||
| Conservative gain from Independent Ratepayers | Swing | +3.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ian Hillas | 1,694 | 63.0 | +12.1 | |
| Labour | David George | 617 | 22.9 | -10.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Susan Reeve | 379 | 14.1 | -2.1 | |
| Majority | 1,077 | 40.0 | +22.0 | ||
| Turnout | 2,690 | 29.5 | +0.9 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +11.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Peter Hogarth | 2,325 | 67.7 | +13.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Barbara Harber | 692 | 20.2 | -12.6 | |
| Labour | Marcus Bennion | 416 | 12.1 | -0.8 | |
| Majority | 1,633 | 47.6 | +26.1 | ||
| Turnout | 3,433 | 33.7 | +0.7 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +13.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Graham Craig | 605 | 55.0 | -10.4 | |
| Conservative | Daniel Kettle | 361 | 32.8 | +9.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Sandra Oakes | 135 | 12.3 | +1.1 | |
| Majority | 244 | 22.2 | -19.7 | ||
| Turnout | 1,101 | 14.5 | +0.2 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | -9.8 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Nicholas Worley | 2,900 | 74.7 | +4.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Brenda Chapple | 620 | 16.0 | -1.4 | |
| Labour | Irma Shaw | 360 | 9.3 | -2.6 | |
| Majority | 2,280 | 58.8 | +5.4 | ||
| Turnout | 3,880 | 34.5 | -4.9 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +2.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Brian Burgess | 1,194 | 49.0 | -2.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | June Gandy | 1,116 | 45.8 | +2.9 | |
| Labour | James Burman | 128 | 5.3 | -0.5 | |
| Majority | 78 | 3.2 | -5.2 | ||
| Turnout | 2,438 | 26.1 | -12.9 | ||
| Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | -2.6 | |||
- "Solihull". BBC News Online. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
- Hetherington, Peter; Watt, Nicholas (25 April 2000). "Armchair rebels threaten Labour hopes: Local elections: Party workers fear disillusionment and apathy as expected low turnouts prompt experiments to woo the voters". The Guardian. p. 8.
- Luck, Deborah (4 May 2000). "Hang on to your seats as election fight begins". Birmingham Post. p. 4.
- "Battleground Solihull: Conservatives fight for a metropolitan foothold". Financial Times. 5 May 2000. p. 6.
- Gray, Chris (5 May 2000). "Tories win Solihull City socialists axed Knowles out as Labour crumbles". Birmingham Post. p. 1.
- "Borough still not true Blue". Birmingham Post. 6 May 2000. p. 5.
- "Tories set to revive power base in local government". Financial Times. 5 May 2000. p. 6.
- Walker, Jonathan (5 May 2000). "Labour leader is ousted as Tories regain control". Birmingham Post. p. 3.
- "Labour vote hit by crisis at Rover". Birmingham Post. 5 May 2000. p. 1.
- "Local Election Results - 2000". Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 2 September 2000. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
- "Election special: End of a 10-year Tory wait". Birmingham Mail. 5 May 2000. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
- Lissaman, Vicky (8 May 2000). "Labour group appoints leader". Birmingham Mail. p. 6.
- "Local council results". Financial Times. 6 May 2000. p. 6.
- Lissaman, Vicky (29 September 2000). "Tories tighten grip on council". Birmingham Mail. p. 31.